NYT Spelling Bee Answers for May 24, 2018
Game Summary
| Center Letter | K |
|---|---|
| Outer Letters | a, b, c, e, l, m |
| # of Pangrams | 2 (Perfect: none) |
| Total Words | 28 words |
| Total Points | 112 points |
| Genius Level | 78 points |
| Bingo? | No |
Table of Contents
As you scroll down this page, the clues get progressively more revealing. So scroll slowly!
- Spelling Bee Grid
- Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints
- Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints
- Extra Letter Hints (Incrementally Revealing) 🤯
- Today's Complete Solution
- Answer Definitions
If you're just here for a list of NYT Spelling Bee answers, Jump down to the answers ↓ (Spoiler Alert!).
Spelling Bee Grid
The following table shows the standard Spelling Bee summary grid, which lists word lengths across the top and letters down the left-hand side. The cell where the word lengths and letters intersect displays the number of words in today's puzzle with the corresponding first letter and word length.
| 4</th><th>5</th><th>6</th><th>7</th><th>8</th><th>9 | Σ | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | - | 2 | - | - | - | - | 2 |
| B | 5 | 3 | - | - | - | 1 | 9 |
| C | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | 2 | 1 | 6 |
| E | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| K | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | 3 |
| L | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | 4 |
| M | 3 | - | - | - | 1 | - | 4 | Σ | 15 | 7 | 1 | - | 3 | 2 | 28 |
Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding two letters.
| A | AB×1 AL×1 |
|---|---|
| B | BA×4 BE×2 BL×3 |
| C | CA×4 CL×2 |
| E | |
| K | KA×1 KE×2 |
| L | LA×2 LE×2 |
| M | MA×3 ME×1 |
Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding three letters.
| A | ABA×1 ALA×1 |
|---|---|
| B | BAB×1 BAC×1 BAK×1 BAL×1 BEA×1 BEC×1 BLA×2 BLE×1 |
| C | CAC×1 CAK×1 CAL×1 CAM×1 CLA×2 |
| E | |
| K | KAL×1 KEB×1 KEE×1 |
| L | LAC×1 LAK×1 LEA×1 LEE×1 |
| M | MAC×1 MAK×2 MEE×1 |
Extra Letter Hints (Incrementally Revealing)
The table below lists all of the solutions to today's puzzle, but they're concealed. You can click the plus button (+) to reveal additional letters, one-by-one.
Concealed definitions are provided as additional clues. You can toggle concealment of the definitions by clicking on the concealer bar or the text that appears when the definition is visible.
Pangrams are marked with a dagger symbol (†).
| Word | 2L Ref | Definition (click to reveal) |
|---|---|---|
| ab... | AB5 | Toward the rear; Phrase: 'to be taken ____', meaning 'surprised'. |
| al... | AL5 | An expression of sorrow or mourning. |
| ba... | BA5 | A Central and Eastern European coffee cake flavored with orange rind, rum, almonds, and raisins. |
| ba.. | BA4 | At or near the rear. |
| ba.. | BA4 | To cook (something) in an oven (for someone). |
| ba.. | BA4 | An uncultivated ridge formed in the open field system, caused by the action of ploughing. |
| be.. | BE4 | Anatomical uses. A rigid structure projecting from the front of a bird's face, used for pecking, grooming, foraging, carrying items, eating food, etc. A similar structure forming the jaws of an octopus, turtle, etc. The long projecting sucking mouth of some insects and other invertebrates, as in the Hemiptera. The upper or projecting part of the shell, near the hinge of a bivalve. The prolongation of certain univalve shells containing the canal. Any process somewhat like the beak of a bird, terminating the fruit or other parts of a plant. |
| be.. | BE4 | A stream or small river. |
| bl... | BL5 | Absorbing all light and reflecting none; dark and hueless. |
| bl....... | BL9 | A rejection; a vote against admitting someone. |
| bl... | BL5 | Without color; pale; pallid. |
| ca.... | CA6 | The cry of a hen or goose, especially when laying an egg. |
| ca.. | CA4 | A rich, sweet dessert food, typically made of flour, sugar, and eggs and baked in an oven, and often covered in icing. |
| ca...... | CA8 | The return of a situation to a previous position or state. |
| ca....... † | CA9 | The backs of camels. |
| cl... | CL5 | An abrupt, sharp sound, especially one made by two hard objects colliding repetitively; a sound midway between a click and a clunk. |
| cl...... † | CL8 | An informal beach party in which food, usually seafood, is cooked in a firepit dug in the sand, filled with hot coals. |
| ka.. | KA4 | An edible plant, similar to cabbage, with curled leaves that do not form a dense head (Brassica oleracea var. acephala) |
| ke... | KE5 | A dish of pieces of meat, fish, or vegetables roasted on a skewer or spit, especially a doner kebab. |
| ke.. | KE4 | A large beam along the underside of a ship’s hull from bow to stern. |
| la.. | LA4 | A deficiency or need (of something desirable or necessary); an absence, want. |
| la.. | LA4 | A large, landlocked stretch of water or similar liquid. |
| le.. | LE4 | A crack, crevice, fissure, or hole which admits water or other fluid, or lets it escape. |
| le.. | LE4 | The vegetable Allium ampeloprasum var. porrum, having edible leaves and an onion-like bulb but with a milder flavour than the onion. |
| ma.. | MA4 | An individual skilled in the art of seduction using verbal skills. |
| ma.. | MA4 | To create. To build, construct, produce, or originate. |
| ma...... | MA8 | Able to be made. |
| me.. | ME4 | Humble, non-boastful, modest, meager, or self-effacing. |
Today's Complete Solution
The words that follow are a complete listing of all acceptable words in today's New York Time Spelling Bee puzzle.
Next to the answer word you'll see the two-letter reference (2L Ref) in parentheses. We added that 2L Ref for easier translation of the spoiler-avoidant language you see on the Spelling Bee Forum and Twitter. The 2L Ref signifies a word's two start letters followed by the total number of letters in the word.
- aback (AB5)
- alack (AL5)
- babka (BA5)
- back (BA4)
- bake (BA4)
- balk (BA4)
- beak (BE4)
- beck (BE4)
- black (BL5)
- blackball (BL9)
- bleak (BL5)
- cackle (CA6)
- cake (CA4)
- callback (CA8)
- camelback† (CA9)
- clack (CL5)
- clambake† (CL8)
- kale (KA4)
- kebab (KE5)
- keel (KE4)
- lack (LA4)
- lake (LA4)
- leak (LE4)
- leek (LE4)
- mack (MA4)
- make (MA4)
- makeable (MA8)
- meek (ME4)
Answer Definitions
- aback (adverb): Toward the rear; Phrase: 'to be taken ____', meaning 'surprised'.
- alack (interjection): An expression of sorrow or mourning.
- babka (noun): A Central and Eastern European coffee cake flavored with orange rind, rum, almonds, and raisins.
- back (adjective): At or near the rear.
- bake (verb): To cook (something) in an oven (for someone).
- balk (noun): An uncultivated ridge formed in the open field system, caused by the action of ploughing.
- beak (noun): Anatomical uses. A rigid structure projecting from the front of a bird's face, used for pecking, grooming, foraging, carrying items, eating food, etc. A similar structure forming the jaws of an octopus, turtle, etc. The long projecting sucking mouth of some insects and other invertebrates, as in the Hemiptera. The upper or projecting part of the shell, near the hinge of a bivalve. The prolongation of certain univalve shells containing the canal. Any process somewhat like the beak of a bird, terminating the fruit or other parts of a plant.
- beck (noun): A stream or small river.
- black (adjective): Absorbing all light and reflecting none; dark and hueless.
- blackball (noun): A rejection; a vote against admitting someone.
- bleak (adjective): Without color; pale; pallid.
- cackle (noun): The cry of a hen or goose, especially when laying an egg.
- cake (noun): A rich, sweet dessert food, typically made of flour, sugar, and eggs and baked in an oven, and often covered in icing.
- callback (noun): The return of a situation to a previous position or state.
- camelback† (noun): The backs of camels.
- clack (noun): An abrupt, sharp sound, especially one made by two hard objects colliding repetitively; a sound midway between a click and a clunk.
- clambake† (noun): An informal beach party in which food, usually seafood, is cooked in a firepit dug in the sand, filled with hot coals.
- kale (noun): An edible plant, similar to cabbage, with curled leaves that do not form a dense head (Brassica oleracea var. acephala)
- kebab (noun): A dish of pieces of meat, fish, or vegetables roasted on a skewer or spit, especially a doner kebab.
- keel (noun): A large beam along the underside of a ship’s hull from bow to stern.
- lack (noun): A deficiency or need (of something desirable or necessary); an absence, want.
- lake (noun): A large, landlocked stretch of water or similar liquid.
- leak (noun): A crack, crevice, fissure, or hole which admits water or other fluid, or lets it escape.
- leek (noun): The vegetable Allium ampeloprasum var. porrum, having edible leaves and an onion-like bulb but with a milder flavour than the onion.
- mack (noun): An individual skilled in the art of seduction using verbal skills.
- make (verb): To create. To build, construct, produce, or originate.
- makeable (adjective): Able to be made.
- meek (adjective): Humble, non-boastful, modest, meager, or self-effacing.